Even if a person generally dislikes foreign movies, they could still enjoy Children of Glory because if feels very much like an American film, and it leans very heavily on familiar archetypes to tell the story. For example, the protagonist is a very typical movie hero who is initially reluctant to join the rebellion but ends up being thrust into the conflict and then heroically supports the cause because he realizes that it is a noble effort. He has an annoying little brother that idolizes him and wants to be more grown up until emulating his brother gets him into trouble, and he realizes that he just wants to be a kid. He has overbearing mother and relates more to his grandfather who seems to have the sensibilities of a much younger man, in that he supports the youth-led rebellion. Karcsi and best friends have a falling out, but reconcile by the end of the movie, and the film's love interest initially dislikes Karcsi but they develop a romance over an unrealistically short period of time. These are all elements straight out of a Hollywood movie. An average person could watch this film without subtitles or any prior knowledge of the Hungarian Revolution and still easily follow the story because they've seen it so many times before in other popular revolutionary movies like V for Vendetta or Braveheart.
These familiar elements could also work to the films detriment. If a person was expecting a more subtle and stereotypically "artsy" European film, they might think this movie is too cliché, and that may be a fair criticism. Nothing in the movie is really surprising. Everything plays out exactly as you would expect, but that doesn't detract from the emotional core of the movie. Although the movie's themes of oppression and freedom are treated the way they are in most films, they still feel very effective and emotionally stirring. The characters are portrayed well enough that the viewer wants them to succeed and is invested in their story. Even if some of the things happening around them are a little cliché, you still want to follow them on their journey and see where it takes them.
The film is set in 1956, but this is not the fruitful post WWII, baby boomer 1950s that America was experiencing. Hungary looks much more impoverished under Soviet rule. It seems more like the 1930s or 1940s where there was an economic depression or strict rationing. It's clear that even before it became a war zone, Hungary was not doing very well during this time.
The film itself opens with a water polo tournament that establishes the Russians as Karcsi's rivals and sets up the tension between the Soviet Union and the countries that it controlled. The Hungarians do not like the Russians, and the Russians seem to view the Hungarian team with disdain. In the locker room the tension explodes into a fist fight the same way the tension would explode into a full blown revolution later in the movie. This is reminiscent of a lot of athletic movies that use the featured sport as a microcosm for society so social issues can be explored on a smaller scale. Remember the Titans used football the explore segregation and racial integration, and Children of Glory uses Olympic water polo to explore rebellion and Soviet oppression is Central Europe.
Aside from Karcsi the other main character and protagonist was Viki, a leader in the student protests that would turn into the Hungarian revolution. She is the reason Karcsi becomes involved in the revolution, as he is romantically pursuing her when the protests turn violent, and he gets caught up in the action. She's a more competent member of revolution than Karcsi, and her authority seems to carry a lot of weight in the rebellion. She is often shown being in charge of large groups of people, whereas Karcsi doesn't know what he's doing a lot of the time and begins the movie willfully ignorant about the protests and learns about what's going on along with the audience. While Karcsi is depicted as the primary protagonist, Viki is clearly the "hero" of the film. She often is often the only person willing to stand by her convictions and not give up on her cause, motivating the other rebels in the process.
The violence in the move is graphic in a very effective way. Gunfire is significantly louder than the rest of the audio, and when people get shot with higher caliper guns, parts of their bodies explode where the bullets hit them, sometimes exposing the bone underneath. This is especially graphic because the first shot hits a defenseless older woman. The Soviets have the Hungarians significantly out-gunned, so the battles result in a lot of Hungarians being killed, including bystanders and people not directly involved in the revolution. This heightens the threat of the Soviets as not only oppressors, but also murders. While there are relatively few battle scenes in the movie, when they do occur, it feels like there's a lot at stake. The threat of violence is never treated lightly and has dire consequences for the characters and for Hungary.
Children of Glory is an extremely accessible film about the ideas of freedom, oppression, and patriotism. It sheds light on a historic event most Americans don't know about, and most importantly it tells a compelling story.
These familiar elements could also work to the films detriment. If a person was expecting a more subtle and stereotypically "artsy" European film, they might think this movie is too cliché, and that may be a fair criticism. Nothing in the movie is really surprising. Everything plays out exactly as you would expect, but that doesn't detract from the emotional core of the movie. Although the movie's themes of oppression and freedom are treated the way they are in most films, they still feel very effective and emotionally stirring. The characters are portrayed well enough that the viewer wants them to succeed and is invested in their story. Even if some of the things happening around them are a little cliché, you still want to follow them on their journey and see where it takes them.
The film is set in 1956, but this is not the fruitful post WWII, baby boomer 1950s that America was experiencing. Hungary looks much more impoverished under Soviet rule. It seems more like the 1930s or 1940s where there was an economic depression or strict rationing. It's clear that even before it became a war zone, Hungary was not doing very well during this time.
The film itself opens with a water polo tournament that establishes the Russians as Karcsi's rivals and sets up the tension between the Soviet Union and the countries that it controlled. The Hungarians do not like the Russians, and the Russians seem to view the Hungarian team with disdain. In the locker room the tension explodes into a fist fight the same way the tension would explode into a full blown revolution later in the movie. This is reminiscent of a lot of athletic movies that use the featured sport as a microcosm for society so social issues can be explored on a smaller scale. Remember the Titans used football the explore segregation and racial integration, and Children of Glory uses Olympic water polo to explore rebellion and Soviet oppression is Central Europe.
Aside from Karcsi the other main character and protagonist was Viki, a leader in the student protests that would turn into the Hungarian revolution. She is the reason Karcsi becomes involved in the revolution, as he is romantically pursuing her when the protests turn violent, and he gets caught up in the action. She's a more competent member of revolution than Karcsi, and her authority seems to carry a lot of weight in the rebellion. She is often shown being in charge of large groups of people, whereas Karcsi doesn't know what he's doing a lot of the time and begins the movie willfully ignorant about the protests and learns about what's going on along with the audience. While Karcsi is depicted as the primary protagonist, Viki is clearly the "hero" of the film. She often is often the only person willing to stand by her convictions and not give up on her cause, motivating the other rebels in the process.
The violence in the move is graphic in a very effective way. Gunfire is significantly louder than the rest of the audio, and when people get shot with higher caliper guns, parts of their bodies explode where the bullets hit them, sometimes exposing the bone underneath. This is especially graphic because the first shot hits a defenseless older woman. The Soviets have the Hungarians significantly out-gunned, so the battles result in a lot of Hungarians being killed, including bystanders and people not directly involved in the revolution. This heightens the threat of the Soviets as not only oppressors, but also murders. While there are relatively few battle scenes in the movie, when they do occur, it feels like there's a lot at stake. The threat of violence is never treated lightly and has dire consequences for the characters and for Hungary.
Children of Glory is an extremely accessible film about the ideas of freedom, oppression, and patriotism. It sheds light on a historic event most Americans don't know about, and most importantly it tells a compelling story.